Yamaha Motif XS Sounds and 88 Weighted Keys -- To Go!

When you're on stage, your focus is on connecting with your audience and making every moment magical. You don't need some clunky workstation keyboard, with its complex sequencing and arranging functions getting in the way. It sure would be nice to have all of the premium piano and synth sounds that come in most workstations, though. Meet the Yamaha S90 XS, a professional performing keyboardist's dream come true. The keyboard features the same powerful sound engine that's at the core of the incredible Motif XS workstation, but with a streamlined design and interface that's geared towards explosive live performance.

A Lean, Mean, Gigging Machine

The sleek look and low-profile of the Yamaha S90 XS testify to its role as a finely tuned performance instrument. Not all are lucky enough to have a road crew haul their gear around, but with a weight less than 50 pounds you won't mind carrying your keyboard around by yourself. Once you've loaded it in and set it up, you'll find the controls are intuitively laid out, with each button and slider clearly labeled to eliminate guesswork. The large, super-bright LCD screen gives you instant feedback as to which patch is selected, what parameter is being manipulated, and what effect is active, and can be read even under low-light stage conditions. Actually playing those patches is a breeze, too. The keyboard features 88 keys for the full piano range, letting you switch from support player to lead player without fussing with octave up/down buttons. The keys themselves are full-sized, with weight, action, and rebound that respond like those on a real, top-notch piano. They're weighted just enough to feel like you can dig into them, but not so much so that you'll get fatigued, even during long, demanding sets. The final touch on this intuitive instrument is the placement of the pitch and mod wheels--moved from their above-the-keyboard position on the older keyboard to the left of the keys for quick, painless access. Every aspect of the physical design has been honed for effortless performance.

Powerful Motif XS Synth Sounds

The Yamaha S90 XS may do without the arranging, sequencing and compositional tools of its workstation brethren, but that doesn't mean it doesn't boast extensive sound-sculpting options. Just like the Motif, the Yamaha S90 XS has a huge and varied sonic palette, and gives you the ability to tweak every aspect of those sounds. Whether you simply want to adjust EQ, reverb and LFO, or get into the nitty-gritty and edit waveforms, velocity curves and the like, the editing functions are self-explanatory and comprehensive. And don't worry about getting lost in a whirl of editing madness; if you ever feel like you've gotten too far from a patch's original character, a press of the "Compare" button will instantly switch between the preset sound and the edits you've made. Of course, the factory presets already sound phenomenal; getting great synth tones is as easy or as complex as you want it to be. No synth would be complete without a killer arpeggiator, and this keyboard's is second-to-none. You get 1,787 different arpeggio patterns included, and while they sound sweet on synths and drums, special things happen when you combine the arpeggiator with one of the keyboard's "Mega Voice" patches. Select an electric guitar, for example, and the arpeggiated phrase will automatically generate hammer-ons, pull-offs and fret noises, turning an automated process into an breathtakingly organic musical passage.

142MB Of All-New Acoustic Piano Sounds

The perfect gigging keyboard needs to have great synthesizer capabilities, but it also needs to have great acoustic piano sounds. There is no point in making it lightweight if you're going to be lugging a second "digital piano" around with you anyway. Luckily for you, the Yamaha S90 XS boasts amazing, stereo-sampled acoustic piano patches that'll have your audiences doubting their own eyes. Across the entire digital keyboard line, Yamaha is proud of their stereo sampled grand piano sound, but the piano emulations are the cream of the crop. The keyboard's designers dedicated a whopping 142MB of sampling memory to the sophisticated acoustic piano sounds, all sampled from a hand-built Yamaha S6 concert grand piano. By allocating so much on-board memory, Yamaha was able to construct the piano voices from longer stereo-sampled waves. The longer waves make for exceptionally natural pianissimo decay; on down tempo, sparse piano ballads, where other digital pianos are exposed as thin and lifeless, this keyboard remains full and complex. Special note should be made of the piano half-damper capabilities: when paired with the FC3 sustain pedal, the keyboard reads half-position movements to simulate the effects of a gently or partially applied damper, a huge improvement over most keyboards' rudimentary on-or-off operation. This sophisticated playability, combined with incredible stereo sound, makes for one of the most expressive and realistic multi-sampled pianos available on any digital keyboard.

More New XS Features
If you've played the last-generation S90ES, you already know what a powerful performance machine it is. The Yamaha S90 XS steps up the live game even more by adding a microphone input (with dedicated input gain and peak metering) and a whole suite of effects specifically tailored for vocal processing-including a robo-tastic vocoder effect. The ES also sported a bunch of studio friendly features that the XS preserves, and adds to. You can still connect to your computer via USB to turn it into a plug-in-host and DAW controller, but now the keyboard boasts its own internal flash memory for up to 18 minutes of recording time! For even more recording time, connect a USB thumb drive. This isn't MIDI information; this is real audio data. The Yamaha S90 XS is its own sophisticated, portable studio! Make use of recorded audio in performance, too, for custom-tailored backing tracks or instant vocal harmonies. You can even import audio files from external sources and play them back.

It takes a very special instrument to make a great musician even better. With its depth of sonic variety and expressive playability, the Yamaha S90 XS could easily be that instrument for you, as well as the last performance synth you'll ever need to buy.

Yamaha S90XS 88-Key Weighted Synthesizer

Designed specifically for players, particularly those who want the highest quality piano sounds and expression, the Yahama S90 XS is a performer's dream. Yet, casual players and hobby musicians will appreciate the exquisite sounds, advanced features and superb playability just as much as top professional artists.

Sounds That Satisfy

The best musical instruments start with top-quality sounds, and the Yamaha S90 XS delivers all that - and more. It features all the Voices, Performances, arps and Virtual Circuit Modeling effects found on the flagship MOTIF XS Music Production Synthesizer. Plus they've added a huge 142 megabytes dedicated exclusively to high-quality piano waveforms, for a total of 456 MB of instrument samples.

Conventional keyboards in the past had their sounds designed primarily for the listener. This time, however, Yamaha's development team set out to primarily satisfy the player instead. They reasoned that when the performer hears and experiences the best possible sound, the performance would be the best possible, too! The result? The Yamaha S90 XS is a genuine musician's instrument, one that truly inspires and stimulates the live performer as well as the music creator and arranger.

Streamline Your Performance

The Yamaha S90 XS also lets you quickly and conveniently create your own custom Performances, with the amazingly fast and easy Performance Creator feature. It's never been easier to select a Voice, then quickly program Layers and Splits - even assigning a Drum Voice complete with arps to create your perfect Performance.

Plus the panel controls of the Yamaha S90 XS have been designed and positioned for optimum, intuitive operation, especially for live performance. For example, you can quickly select a Part, turn it on/off, set Arpeggio on/off, switch Arpeggio Hold - all done easily with the top panel controls - and instantly tweak important synth parameters via the Knobs and Sliders. The perfect Performance has never been easier to create and control.

Ideal for Live Performers

The Yamaha S90 XS has a host of other features that live performers will appreciate - such as the combo input jack that accepts mic input. Simply plug in a microphone, tweak the INPUT GAIN knob (while checking the convenient PEAK lamp), and you're all set! Plus, you can use the Control Knobs to finely adjust the volume and even directly apply reverb or chorus to the sound.

Recording Direct to USB / Internal Memory

If you've got a USB memory device or thumb drive, you can plug it into the Yamaha S90 XS and record your performance as audio data. This remarkable feature lets you instantly capture what you play on the keyboard - including arpeggio playback - to your USB device.

And keep in mind that anything you've recorded to the memory device, even audio files created on your computer, can be played back on the Yamaha S90 XS - which means you can create your own custom audio backing tracks and perform along with them. For example, you can create a basic song track beforehand, then sing and solo over it during your performance. Or add guitar parts and vocal harmonies to be played back with your live performance. There's also a useful Song Chain function that lets you string together separate recordings and create a convenient backing track "set list" for your gigs.

88 key keyboard

The S90 XS provides an 88-key balanced hammer effect keyboard for those players who need a full-range, full-scale keyboard.

Software Integration

Cubase AI - a powerful and versatile audio/MIDI sequencer - is included with the instrument, giving you complete music production capabilities right out of the box. And for editing the keyboard from your computer, there's the S90 XS Editor. This provides convenient, comprehensive control over absolutely all the sounds, settings and functions.

DAW Remote Function

The Yamaha S90 XS is a perfect companion for your computer music production system, too, serving both as a master keyboard and a full-function, multi-timbral tone generator. With the DAW Remote function and its 50 different control templates, you get amazingly easy, intuitive control over your main DAW software and VST instruments - directly from the panel controls! Moreover, the Voice Editor and Remote Editor software gives you convenient, comprehensive computer control over all the sounds, settings and functions of.

"The answer for today's keyboard/synth players who love to perform... either live or in a studio."

Sound:
The Yamaha s90xs is a beast. I’ve owned many keyboards in my 35+ years and this is the top of the line product for both performing and studio work. I’m a music educator as well as a performer… and this synth/stage piano combo is ideal for the live stage situation. I have a 4 piece band that plays at a local coffee shop and this is a perfect keyboard for the performer who wants the right sound “right now”.
The engine is the same as the “flagship” MOTIF XS… so there are endless possibilities with sounds. I have played the Motif XS and have found the “learning curve” to hinder the live performer… it takes too long to feel comfortable using.
Well, here comes the answer. In my humble opinion… I could see this… S90XS or the S70XS being the answer for those who struggle with the large learning curve that accompanies the MOTIF.
Don’t get me wrong, if you are just looking for a keyboard that you only need limited sounds for playing… the Yamaha C300 or the Yamaha C30…might be a better “stage piano” for you… although I have lugged a C300 around for the past summer and it weighs 70+ pounds…with case and is a back breaker to lift out of the case on to the stand.
So far, there are so many features that the s90xs has that I’m still learning about…. But I love exploring… and the more I learn… the more I find that they’ve gone that “extra mile” for the performer. Honestly… for $2300 bucks… it is an awesome keyboard… it looks great… it feels great to play… and most importantly… it sounds unbelievable.
Understand, that there are no speakers with this keyboard… but I come from the “old school” that if it has speakers… it just one step away from being a Casio… sorry… I know that this is not the case today… but this can be a concern for some. So, bring your powered speakers… or a suitable amplifier. Not a big deal for most performers.
I truly measures up to all the hype!
It was worth the wait.
pbrening
Gering, NE
Ease of Use:
a breeze... compared to the MOTIF
Quality:
Very solid... well made.
Value:
it's a huge bang for your buck!
Manufacturer Support:
I purchased it through a local Yamaha Dealer... of which they have a great track record with Yamaha's support... if anything were to go wrong with it. That's the main reason I purchased it locally.
The Wow Factor:
I own it.
Overall:
Great Synth/Stage Piano... they have married the two with grace.

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"Yamaha S90XS"

Overall:
For me it's all about the sounds. I went to the music store to listen to all the offerings and hands down the Yamaha sounds were the best. I don't much care for bells and whistles as I play the instrument. I am not interested in learning all the features, I just want to play. The S90XS is fast to learn and it's easy to access the sounds. The keyboard has the feel of a real piano and that is a big deal for me. I know it does a lot of technical stuff that I will most likely never access. The instrument is inspiring to play and the sounds are amazing. It does not look that great, not a lot of slick blinking lights and and flashy exterior but who cares. It's built like a tank and weighs about as much, which is it's only downfall if you ask me. It's greatest feature is the ability to assign four different patches per "performance" which is Yamaha's name for a voice made of multiple sounds. You can have separate patches for different parts of the song or you can combine the patches to create some monster sounds that can all be played at once or individually each with its own volume control. Why don't all keyboards have this? Once you get used to programming patches to the individual sliders you will be spoiled for life. I will never have another keyboard without this feature.

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